New Obsession
by PinkAngel17
Summary: Pride finds a surprise early one morning. Slight spoiler for 'More Now' (1x17), but mostly Prody fluff. Oneshot.


Disclaimer: I obviously do not own NCIS:New Orleans.

A/N: This came about after I finished 'We Got Your Back'. It's not really a sequel, but it could be in a way. Set a couple months after 'More Now' (1x17) and definitely Prody. Also, this is for BonesBird.

* * *

Pride cracked one eyelid open just enough to see a small stream of early morning light across the floor. It was still early and, he realized while still mostly asleep, it was the team's day off. Staying up so late for several days in a row had taken its toll as well and left him tired.

He closed his eye and turned away from the ray of light, throwing his arm around the pillow behind him while already drifting back to sleep. His eyes abruptly popped open though when his 'pillow' shifted under his arm. Lying next to him, their faces less than a hand's width apart, was Meredith Brody.

Her hair was disheveled and she was laying on her side facing him. She was also clearly still asleep. He stared at her for a few minutes as he tried to wake up enough to remember why she was in his bed. He was relieved to see that she appeared to have all her clothes on, though another part of him was secretly disappointed by that fact as well. He himself was missing a shirt, but that was nothing too surprising since he slept shirtless many a time.

As Dwayne laid there watching her he kept his arm over her, not wanting to risk disturbing her and barely daring to even breathe. He remembered her showing up and them working on the Baitfish case. It was something they'd gotten into a habit of doing after normal business hours the last couple of months. They would brain storm and go over evidence together after work while focusing on more active cases during the day. He knew she was mainly doing it for him and his sanity and after the first couple of weeks he'd stopped protesting.

Last night had been slightly different though. He remembered a bottle of whiskey showing up and a few clumsily played songs on the piano. They hadn't really drunk that much and he didn't have a hangover, so he ruled out alcohol as the reason for her appearing in his bed.

It had been late when they'd finished going over evidence for the hundredth time, even later than it usually was, and he'd offered her a place to sleep for the night so she wouldn't have to drive home so late. She had declined at first, but finally he'd gotten her to hesitantly agree to stay the night. She had wanted to just sleep on the sofa downstairs, but he'd insisted she could stay in his bed and he'd take the arm chair in the adjoining room.

A nightmare, he suddenly remembered.

That was why they were sleeping next to each other. He had been awake, mostly dozing on and off, and she'd been restless. Or so he had thought when he'd kept hearing the rustle of sheets. When he heard her mutter incoherently in her sleep he'd gotten up to check on her though. One look and he'd known she was having a nightmare.

Maybe the alcohol had left him with a buzz or maybe it was just an automatic reflex for him, but he'd climbed onto the bed next to her, brushed a few short strands of hair from her face, and tried to gently wake her up.

His back stiffened as he remembered what happened next. She had woken up and he had...

"King?" a sleep laced voice asked, breaking him from the memory.

He met Merri's eyes as she stared at him with obvious confusion. "Morning," he whispered for lack of anything better to say. He only then realized his arm was still wrapped around her and so he moved it as carefully as he could without drawing too much attention to it.

"What are..." She trailed off with dawning realization as the events of the late night hours came back to her. "Did you...You did," she stated. "You kissed me."

He searched her face for any sign of her feelings on the matter, but couldn't read the look in her eyes. As he tried to find something to say the memory flashed through his mind again...

_"You were having a nightmare," he stated softly while rubbing slow circles up and down her arm after waking her up from the dream._

_She avoided eye contact and shifted. "Sorry if I woke you up."_

_"You didn't." He watched her for a second, noticing how tense she was. Whether from the dream or their close proximity he wasn't entirely sure. "You alright?"_

_"Fine."_

_He didn't believe her. She'd been so intent on helping him lately, so devoted to supporting him, but she didn't seem so willing to let him do the same. He moved his hand from her arm to her face, hooking a finger under her chin and gently turning her face back towards him. As their eyes met it was as if all his common sense vanished into thin air. _

_Slowly, giving her the chance to move if she wanted to, he leaned down. She didn't move a muscle and might as well have been frozen in place as he kissed her softly. It lasted only a second before he pulled away and all his common sense came rushing back. _

_He cleared his throat and leaned back, giving her more room. "Sorry. Must be more tired than I thought. I'll let you go back to sleep." He started to move away, intent of leaving her alone and putting some distance between them before he could make things even more awkward for her. A hand on his wrist stopped him though. When he looked back over he realized she was smiling softly, maybe even with a hint of amusement. _

_"Stay. You'll be more comfortable."_

He wasn't sure what had driven him to agreeing, but he had laid back down next to her and wrapped his arm around her as she used his other arm as a pillow. He'd gone to sleep like that, sleeping more soundly than he had in several days.

Now though he would have to answer for it and deal with the repercussions. He doubted Merri was the kind to approve of kissing bosses and would probably want to push him away after this. He wouldn't blame her. He'd made a stupid move that had the potential of ruining their working dynamic.

"Sorry about that," he finally said. "I guess I was a bit out of it. Must have been the whiskey."

"We didn't drink that much," she pointed out.

He wasn't sure what to say to that. He'd hoped she would take the opening and go along with the excuse so they could go back to normal. He'd expected her to even. He couldn't help but to smile lightly. "You're not making this easy."

"I'm not exactly use to having my boss kiss me," she said dryly. "Especially a boss who is so devoted to his family and job that he barely even thinks about a personal life, let alone thinks about kissing a junior agent. So I'm a little curious what would really make him do it..."

There was a hint of hesitation as she spoke, as if debating with herself whether to breach the topic or let it go, and he could practically see her thoughts spinning now that she was fully awake. There was doubt too, he realized. Seeing her doubt herself so blatantly wasn't something he was accustomed to. He doubted it was anything she was used to either.

Neither of them had moved at all and Pride caught himself glancing at her lips for a second before meeting her eyes again while trying to form an explanation. "The junior agent is very beautiful," he said softly. "And very smart and has earned a lot of respect from her boss. She helped him, stuck around when she didn't have to, and he realized..." He paused for a moment before pressing forward. There was no going back at this point. "That there weren't all that many people who'd be willing to go as far as she would for him and he would be an idiot to let her go."

Her brows creased as she frowned. "King..."

"You don't do relationships," he continued quickly. "I know that. I'm not about to ask you to change. I just wanted you to know that I appreciate all you've done these last couple of months."

Her expression softened at that and he noticed a flash of amusement cross her features. "You could have just said 'thank you'."

He shrugged, thankful that the tension had been broken somewhat. "I kinda liked my way better."

"Truth be told," she began. "So did I."

He chuckled as a smile worked its way onto his face. "Do you think you'd enjoy it a second time?"

"I don't know." She pretended to think about it and his gaze traveled down to her lips again on their own accord.

"Maybe we should find out..."

An uncertain look crossed her face again, but it was gone a second later and he couldn't be sure he'd actually seen it. Merri started to lean in closer, her chest grazing his bare torso and sending a familiar warmth down his spine. They were close enough that their breath intermingled, but before closing the gap she paused. He didn't make a move, barely even risked breathing in hopes that he wouldn't make her re-think what was happening, and waited to see what she'd do.

To his relief she leaned forward another inch and closed the gap. As their lips met he felt himself slipping further and further under whatever spell she'd managed to entrance him with. He brought his hand up to cup her face and pressed himself closer as the urge to get rid of any space left between them grew harder to ignore.

He didn't want it to ever stop, didn't want the warmth or connection to ever go away, and as he deepened the kiss he absently realized it was a sensation he hadn't felt in a long time and one he'd only ever experienced with one other person. That relationship was long over now though and he vowed that, wherever this went, he wouldn't let it end the same way if he could help it.

When they finally broke apart he slid his hand from her cheek, down her arm, and let it rest on her hip. "Meredith Brody," he began while trying to stay serious. "Would you have dinner with me?"

"Who's cooking?"

"Sebastian," he deadpanned.

"I think I'll pass."

He chuckled and slid his hand around to her back, holding her a little closer. "What could I do to change your mind?"

Her smile faltered as her gaze shot to something over his shoulder. "Take a break from the Baitfish case every once in a while. I'm not saying to forget about it, just to take a break before you lose yourself."

He nodded and pressed a tender kiss to her forehead. Her concern made him sink a little further into the feelings he'd slowly been developing for her. "I will. I promise."

"We should probably get up at some point," she said, smirking lightly as he started leisurely running his hand up and down her back.

"Probably," he agreed. "I could make us some breakfast."

"In a little while." She gave him a chaste kiss and then closed her eyes with a satisfied smile. "I could use some more sleep."

Sleep wasn't exactly what he had in mind, but rushing into what _was _on his mind probably wouldn't help their new, yet to be completely defined, relationship. As it was he was content to hold her and just enjoy her company anyway. He certainly slept better when she was around it seemed.

He tucked Merri's head under his chin as she slid an arm around his torso. "I could get used to sleeping like this," he murmured as they both began to drift off to sleep again.

"So could I."

He smiled as Merri relaxed in his arms and he felt himself doing the same. He would never thank Baitfish or Sasha Broussard for anything, but he had to admit that this particular consequence was one part of recent events that he didn't regret. All the sleepless nights in which he'd stared at photos and evidence was worth it for the woman lying next to him in his bed. He had a feeling Meredith Brody would very soon become a new obsession.

He couldn't bring himself to be sorry about that.


End file.
